Modern Foreign Languages

Overview

The languages currently taught within the curriculum are French and Spanish. All pupils study either French or Spanish in Years 7, 8 and 9, and the majority of our pupils continue their language study to GCSE.

In addition to their core foreign language, pupils with a home language are also given the opportunity to take a GCSE in this language (if available). This has to lead to a number of excellent GCSE results in languages including French, Italian, Polish, Portuguese and Spanish.


Curriculum

The two elements that shape our curriculum are communication and cultural awareness. In every MFL lesson, pupils use all four skills (reading, listening, writing and speaking) to communicate effectively in the target language.

Our KS3 curriculum provides pupils with an overview of Spanish and French-speaking countries. In Year 7, pupils learn how to describe people and relationships, ask questions, express opinions, describe places and objects, and indicate time. In Year 8, pupils learn how to compare people, give further opinions, describe people and events in the present, sequence actions and plan for the future. In Year 9, pupils learn how to describe where people live, make arrangements and describe events in the past, present and future. Pupils follow a knowledge-rich curriculum and learn high level, authentic language, which they learn how to use in various contexts to ensure they have a deep grammatical understanding of the language.

In Year 10, our pupils begin the KS4 GCSE curriculum, which has three main themes: identity and culture; local, national and international areas of interest; and current and future study and employment. Pupils build on the knowledge learned in KS3 to develop their understanding and confidence in the language.

Pupils have access to a number of online subscriptions as well as workbooks, which both support their independent learning and continue to engage them in the subject.

There are a wealth of high quality resources available on the internet for pupils studying languages.


Enrichment and Extra Curricular Activities.

Beyond the academic curricular, all pupils have the opportunity to attend a French and Spanish cultural club on a weekly basis. We also offer a link with French-speaking school based in Provence, France. 

EAL pupils also are offered a weekly support club.

Year 7 and Year 8 pupils are offered the opportunity to study Mandarin as part of the Grammar Plus programme.

The MFL department organises a yearly French Film Festival in partnership with the London 'Institut Français' and TV5 monde.

In October 2022, Year 9 pupils studying Spanish attended a Masterclass on Friday Kahlo followed by an immersive exhibition on Mexican geniuses .

In 2023, pupils will attend a play in French and in Spanish to bring to life the language they are taught at Saint Matthew Academy.


Websites:

BBC Bitesize

Quizlet

Memrise

Duolingo

Language Gym

Textbooks

KS4 French

http://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/languages/gcse-languages-textbooks-print-and-digital

KS4 Spanish

http://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/languages/gcse-spanish-textbooks-print-and-digital